90-year-old woman collapses to death after lost land case

A 90-year-old woman, Maliseria Nakintu collapsed and died after losing a 12-year-old court battle to reclaim 10-acres of land said to have been taken over the Church in Masaka.

Nakintu, a resident of Butale-Kaduggala village in Mukungwe sub-county in Masaka district, dragged the diocese of West Buganda to court more than a decade ago. Nakintu shares half of the land with one Muhamood Sserwadda aged 84.

The two had filed an appeal against a Magistrate's court judgment that granted ownership of the land to the diocese in a case that dragged on for at least 12-years.

The case first came up, when, Nakintu and Sserwadda dragged the diocese to court for land grabbing and malicious damage in 2006 before then chief magistrate Mary Ekiti. The diocese had hired a group of men to raze all eucalyptus trees on the land in question.

Nakintu stated that she and some of her family members had lived on the land for over 80 years and have been paying ground rent to Buganda kingdom. Sserwadda said he bought five acres of the land on July 12, 1974 and has lived there since.

But the diocese accused the families of trespass - counting on a leasehold title secured from Buganda kingdom. The initial judgment, made in 2016 was in favour of the Church, prompting the two senior citizens to appeal the decision.

On February 21, 2017, the High court in Masaka summoned both parties again, and justice Dr Florence Zeija ordered them to provide evidence in their case. But the appellants' lawyer Jacqueline Sseguya, reportedly did not inform them of the actual day to present the required evidence.

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As a result, the High court on Tuesday June 19, 2018 dismissed the appeal due to the failure by the appellant to produce proof of ownership. The decision is reported to have shocked the old woman who collapsed outside the court premises and was pronounced dead minutes after.

Her death sparked off protests among residents in Butale who attribute it to what they called an unfair court decision. The families have now pitched camp in the land in question and cautioned the diocese against any attempt to force them out.

James Kakembo, one of Nakintu's children, says they never got justice due to lack of funds to hire good lawyers, yet the eviction leaves them homeless.

But Rev. Canon Enoch Muhanguzi, the diocese spokesperson, says the same law that ordered them to leave will be used to evict them from the land. Muhanguzi explains that they can't use force but the law will still be applied to secure the land.

Comments

Land grabbing has become one of the important landmarks of M7's NRM achievements.

Even Churches that were supposed to protect the poor from land grabbing have become players in the same game. Rev. Canon Enoch Muhanguz must be a happier man given his victory over two poor desperate peasants who could not afford to have the lawyers supposed to defend their interests..

One of the commandments says: Thou shall not kill! But both the church and this man, because they prefered to grab a poor woman's land, have killed.

You must be accountable before God for taking away the life of one of His followers. Even Church leaders go in courts, chest-beating because they have the necessary money to send a poor man/woman to the grave. How shamefull this country has turned to become.

The magistrates court ruled in favour of the church, the high court ruled in favour of the church as well.

How could they fail to present their documents/evidence when summoned to court? The writer of the article wants to defend the old people.

Bakubye, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven/hell.

In other words, if you didn't have a house/land here on earth, you will be homeless in heaven. Otherwise except where to be buried, at 90 and 84 respectively, it is absurd to fight for a 10 acre of land.

Even if it is for the grand children, these old folks would know what the current generation of grandchildren would do with such land: they will sell for tonto.

In other words and the church likewise; in the 21st Century land grabbing is vanity and foolishness.